CBP: Weekend busts net nearly $3M in drugs, 5 Mexicans arrested

Posted Oct 28, 2014

Paul Ingram
TucsonSentinel.com

Customs and Border ProtectionMarijuana stashed under the hood of a vehicle in Douglas, as part of a series of seizures over the weekend totaling around $3 million across the Arizona border.
Customs and Border ProtectionA total of 179 packages of marijuana pulled from two vehicles in separate incidents over the weekend at the Douglas Port of Entry. These loads are part of a series of seizures made over the weekend, totaling nearly $3 million.
Customs and Border ProtectionPackages of cocaine hidden beneath the dashboard of a Toyota found during an inspection at the Naco Port of Entry, part of a a series of seizures made over the weekend, totaling nearly $3 million.

Customs officers working along the Arizona border seized nearly $3 million in narcotics in a series of seizures at three ports of entry over the weekend, arresting five Mexican nationals in separate incidents, according to releases from the agency.

In addition to a massive haul on Friday worth more than $2.3 million, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Nogales seized 26 pounds of methamphetamine on Saturday.

Officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing in Nogales arrested Yaneth Azucena Tirado-Guzman, 31, of Nogales, Sonora, after a drug dog helped officers find a stash of meth worth around $77,000 hidden in the rear quarter panels of a GMC SUV, the agency said in a news release.

Meanwhile in Douglas, Customs officers arrested two Mexican nationals for attempting to smuggle approximately $180,000 in marijuana in two incidents.

Officers arrested Jose Daniel Grijalva-Marquez, 18, for attempting to smuggle nearly 326 pounds of marijuana Friday, and Laura Susanaga-Calderon, 39, on Saturday for attempting to smuggle more than 34 pounds, the agency said.

On Sunday, officers working at the Port of Naco arrested Hector Manuel Madrid-Valencia, 48, after a secondary inspection turned up 39 pounds of cocaine worth around $411,000 under the dashboard of his Toyota, the agency said.

All five were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the vehicles and drugs were seized.